


helping hands

by wayvbabey



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, ChenJi, Crack, Domestic Fluff, Don't trust Chenle and Jisung, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, I'm Sorry Park Jisung (NCT), Magnificent Seven AU: ATF, Sweet Mark Lee (NCT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26183023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayvbabey/pseuds/wayvbabey
Summary: Jeno is your ‘popular friend’. While you’re hanging out in the library, he’s out on the field. While you’re studying, he’s out at parties. You’ve never felt the two of you are compatible, until Jeno becomes determined to prove just how good of a ‘friend’ he can be.TW // underage drinking
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	helping hands

**Author's Note:**

> this fic took 10 hours. it also has a cute header, which you can find on my tumblr at @.lucaswithnoshirt. shout out to the girls for helping me beta, but idk if they have ao3 so they'll probably never see this. anyway, enjoy!

-

Watching Lee Jeno grow up has been nothing short of spectacular.

Growing up alongside him was a whirlwind from start to finish. From the moment he approached you with his trademark eye smile as a child to the way he searches for you across the playing field on a Friday night, sending you a wink before diving into the fray to the cheers of the crowd, who expect nothing but brilliance from their star player.

You are black and white, yin and yang, north and south. Even the teachers had exchanged apprehensive looks when you had joined him in the sandpit on the day you first met. Jeno was from a family of athletes, a social butterfly with a tendency to rough-house, while you walked into kindergarten looking like you were ready to cry a river. You hadn’t settled the whole day, clutching a teddy bear mournfully until Jeno had taken you by the hand and dragged you over to the sandpit, where you had promptly held him hostage until he agreed to be your friend.

They had expected him to ditch you as he grew up. On the first day of _real_ school, _big_ school, you were in separate classes and Jeno was immediately smitten with football. But you had waddled up to him at lunch, excitedly showing him the tooth you had lost the day before, and your bond had only grown stronger.

You had changed, melted into one another until you were embarrassing him across the cafeteria in front of his friends and he was picking you up on a Friday night to take you to the movies, demolishing the bag of popcorn you had paid for with your own money.

When you become close to someone and so used to their presence, their touch on your skin is nothing more than the ordinary. Jeno has always been your ordinary, but as you’d entered your teenage years it had become harder to distinguish your feelings, because like you and Jeno, they are mixed up, always changing yet never far from your heart. You knew Jeno like a writer knows their pen, yet your feelings for him were something you could never grasp, never hold down. Never figure out.

Some days it hurt to look at him when he smiled at you, some days you could hang off his shoulders without a care in the world. Yet every time you contemplated crossing the thin line between friends and lovers, you took a step back to grasp your emotions and became lost in them once again. How could you let yourself fall in love with a boy who saw you as nothing more than a friend?

Besides that, Jeno owns the football field. Scholarships are tripping over themselves to bag him, the star (and heartthrob) of the school. You, however, flourish in the logical, having seized the student council presidential position by the horns as soon as you could apply and demonstrating yourself as a capable young individual, spending your weekends studying away while trying not to laugh at the undecipherable texts Jeno sends you when he’s drunk.

Though, as established, there was no black and white anymore, which was why you let the liquid burn a path down your throat on a Friday night, grimacing until the scorching sensation fades away and you finally feel like you aren’t going to hack up your lungs. Resurfacing with a grin, you beam as your friends applaud your ability to keep your seventh shot down.

“How did you _do_ that?” Jaemin coughs, retching with a sour expression on his face. He’d been your partner for drinking tonight but evidently, he’s reached his limit. His drink, the same of yours, is in Mark’s hand, and the latter downs it without so much as a flinch.

“Practice, my friend.” You snicker at Jaemin, sticking your tongue out at him that is red from the strawberry-flavoured alcohol you had been nursing for most of the night. That, coupled with the shots Chenle has been force-feeding you and Jaemin, has been enough to get you pleasantly buzzed, smiling too widely whenever Jeno sends you an amused look and staring off into space before blurting out random facts, like Jaemin does now.

“Do you think, like, me and Soyoung stand a chance?” He glances around your little group desperately, biting down on his lip as he takes in everyone’s expressions. For someone who is usually so laid back, seeing his vulnerable side has you giggling into your hand and falling into Renjun’s side, who elbows you roughly and you just catch yourself before you land on the plush carpet. The last thing you want is to throw up, especially as it would be in someone else’s house.

“No chance,” Renjun sniggers. “One-hundred per cent she thinks of you as a friend.”

Everyone laughs while Jaemin looks at his friend sadly. You slap Renjun’s shoulders, stifling your own snickers.

“Don’t be so mean!”

“You can do it, Jaemin!” Jisung looks at the elder boy determinedly. “Like, if Jeno and Y/N can be so close, why can’t you two?”

You know the youngest of your group means well, and you should be drunk enough to laugh it off, but you end up laughing too loudly and avoiding Jeno’s gaze. After all, Jeno is your friend and is way out of your league. You’re happy to let your mind daydream, but you and Jeno are not compatible. Not in that way.

“Never, gonna, _happen_ ,” you jeer before finishing off your drink. “Jeno’s, like, _Jeno._ ”

Your friends collapse into laughter again as if you’ve told the world’s funniest joke and you’re so carried away that you don’t notice how Jeno’s face falls, lips turning downwards as he glowers at you.

“Besides!” You roar out, slinging an arm around Renjun, who falls happily onto your shoulder, the faraway look in his eyes signalling that he’s far away from this conversation, “if _anyone_ is gonna be the other half to my power couple, it’s our student council vice-president!”

Donghyuck and Mark cheer, leaning over to clink glasses with you while Jaemin paws for your attention. 

“So I have no chance?” He stares up at you expectantly, mouth half-open as he waits for a response.

You gently grab his cheeks in your hand, squishing them together until he’s pouting and then drawing him closer to you until you’re almost nose to nose.

“No chance, pretty boy.”

“And _there_ we go, she’s reached her limit,” Jeno says loudly, clambering to his feet and stalking over to you, slipping his hands under your arms so he can lift you clean up into the air. Your feet kick out until they find the floor and he only releases you when you can finally stand on your own. 

The world wobbles around him and you clutch at his bicep, which eventually turns into him wrapping an arm around you to help you walk.

“Mark,” he calls out to the eldest boy, “you ready to go?”

Jeno’s the only one not drinking and therefore is the designated driver for you and Mark while the others make their own ways back home. The boy in question nods, getting to his feet unsteadily while you murmur your goodbyes to your friends. Jaemin waves sadly and Renjun sends you a finger heart which you grab out the air and squish to your cheek- until Jeno squats down, grabs you around the middle, and hefts you up until you’re over his shoulder.

“Time to go,” he sing-songs, saying his last goodbyes before heading to the door.

“’m gonna be sick,” you murmur, becoming so limp that his shoulder digs into your stomach. “Jeno, your car’s gonna have sick in it.”

“Don’t you dare,” he hums, dodging flailing limbs while heading towards the door.

“Will it be red? Did you see my red drink earlier? _Oh_ , I’m really going to be sick.”

“Put her down, man.” Mark advises, pushing open the door and Jeno does so, reluctantly depositing you gently onto the grass where you suck in lungfuls of fresh air. It’s cold out and you haven’t brought a jacket but the temperature helps to ground you. Jeno guides your head onto the ground so you’re stretched out on the floor, a guilty look in his eye when he does so.

Then you’re stargazing, ignoring the two boys who are staring down at you worriedly.

“Go grab her a glass of water,” Mark instructs while you whine, making grabby hands for your best friend as he disappears back inside. When it becomes evident he isn’t coming back anytime soon, you sigh and over, grabbing Mark’s ankle.

“I need your jacket, compadre,” you murmur solemnly, staring dolefully up at him.

“So you can be sick on it? No.” Mark frowns but squats down to your level, letting you sit up before rubbing your arms to keep you warm. “Think you can make it home?”

“I think we should just keep partying,” your eyes are glazed over just like Renjun’s were earlier, staring at nothing. “Partying and partying and partying-”

"Party’s over, Y/N. Jeno’s back,” Mark gently detaches your hand from his ankle and stands back up. You follow his gaze and sure enough, Jeno comes out the door, glass in hand while he’s deep in conversation with Jisung and Chenle. You can’t make out what they’re saying but judging by the serious look on their faces, it’s important.

“Can you drink by yourself?” Jeno breaks off from the two boys and kneels down with the drink in hand, bringing it to your lips and swatting away your hands that try to take it from his grasp. At first the water just runs down your chin and you grin victoriously when you see Jeno biting his lip, trying not to laugh. But then you finally start drinking, blinking dazedly and focusing all your energy on keeping the water down. In the distance, Chenle waves madly to you and you only just have enough time to raise a hand back before he and Jisung are hopping into a car and slamming the doors shut.

“Feeling better?” Jeno murmurs to you, raising a hand to tuck a flyaway strand of your hair behind your ear. Then his knuckles brush gently across your face, thumb coming to smooth over the smudged mascara that is painted onto your cheek. You let out a content sigh before you’re jerked back to reality. If you were sober you would have pulled away, but in your inebriated state all you can do is press your cheek to his shoulder, resting it there and sighing wistfully.

He takes that as a sign of confirmation, handing the glass over to Mark before helping you to your feet and walking you to his car. You’re still silent but you keep your eyes trained on Jeno as he puts your seatbelt on, following him as he gets into the driver’s seat and starts up the engine. You only break away from him when the car roars to life, softening into Mark’s side and trying to recall the scent of his body spray as you gaze out the window and stare into the inky night sky.

-

This week, movie night is hosted at Mark’s house. His parents have gone out on a weekend getaway and since that normally means a sleepover will happen, you make sure to pack your pyjamas and toothbrush.

It’s a weekly ritual for your little group: every week there will be a movie night, the film is chosen by the host, and everyone must bring snacks.

“You’re late,” Donghyuck opens the door, looking you up and down and pushing his tongue into his cheek. You scoff at his attempt to look suave and shove a bag of chips into his chest, pushing past him and letting yourself in.

It’s a night you’ve been looking forward to all week. Last weekend was spent recovering from the party and your week has been full of studying. Movie night was usually on a Thursday because no-one had any after-school activities, and since it was near the end of the week it meant you were more than ready to relax.

Mark’s sitting room is set up so there are two comfy chairs on either side of the room that sandwich a couch between them. Jaemin sits in the chair closest to you while the other one lies free.

Jisung, Renjun and Chenle are on the floor surrounded by blankets and food while Jeno sits alone on the couch. When he sees you, he perks up and grins eagerly. You mirror the action before your eyes fall to the empty seats next to him. You don’t know whether Donghuck has taken a seat on the couch or is on the other chair but you’re apprehensive to take a seat next to Jeno. That would mean you’d have to spend the whole night sitting next to him and even at the thought of it your heart throbs uncomfortably. To make matters worse, Donghyuck darts past you and leaps into the spare chair, which would have been your only escape.

Sighing, you make your way over to the sofa, giving Jeno another bright grin and heading to the seat farthest away from him.

Except you never get there. Jeno leans forward and uses some of his extraordinary strength to gently pull you so you’ll be sitting directly next to him. You say _gently_ because you go flying back, almost landing in his lap before you catch yourself and spring to the side, sending him a mortified stare.

“What the hell was that?”

Jeno’s cheeks flush red, an uncommon occurrence in him while Jisung and Chenle snicker from the floor. Though you too are embarrassed, you shuffle down in your seat and poke them hard with your foot, frowning at them. When you sit back up your shoulders brush with Jeno’s although you know there’s nothing you can do about it. If you move away, you’ll bring more attention to yourself, so all you can do is stare straight at the screen and try your hardest to ignore your best friend.

-

“This is _impossible_ ,” Jisung’s head hits the table with a thud so loud that you glance around the library, mortified, before leaning over and flicking him on the forehead. He flinches slightly before rising back up and glaring at you.

The beauty of you, Renjun, Mark and Chenle all being on the student council is that you’re all decently smart, which is good for when the others need help with their homework, like now.

“Are you even trying, dude?” Mark leans over to check his notebook. “All I can see is the date on your paper.”

“I thought I told you to write down what I was saying!” You poke Jisung’s head harder, this time with a pen, and he turns to look at you mournfully.

“It’s too hard! You speak so fast, so I thought I would give up on writing and just listen, but then I didn’t listen!”

“Liar! You haven’t written _anything!_ ”

Hushed whispers draw you out of your argument and when you look up you see it’s because Jeno has entered the library. You watch scornfully as the girls at the library desk smile brightly and wave at him before Mark elbows you and you duck your head down, pretending to be immersed in your work. It’s no secret Jeno is well-liked but nowadays you find it’s harder for you to share Jeno’s attention with others, _especially_ if they’re girls.

“Hi,” he slides into a seat next to Jisung, giving you a smile that has his eyes crinkling before peering over to look at Jisung’s work and making a face at you that has you laughing quietly in order to not alert Jisung.

“Don’t you have practice?” Mark cocks an eyebrow and Jeno just shrugs.

“It ended early.”

You frown at that, because Jeno’s practices _never_ end early. He’s usually the last to leave too, so invested in his drills and cool down. Though you notice Jeno’s shoulders are hunched and he’s refusing to meet Mark’s gaze so you let it slide.

He’s also taking a special interest in Jisung’s notebook even though there’s nothing in it, fiddling with the rather than striking up a conversation like he normally does. Although you’re willing to not question him about why he’s left practice early, you’ve known him long enough to know when he’s deliberately stalling.

“Why are you _really_ here, Jeno?” You ask him, leaning back in your chair and folding your arms. 

“Can’t I visit my friends?” He stares back at you innocently, blinking rapidly while you stare him down.

“Spill, or I’ll go to Coach Lau and give him your location.”

“ _Fine_ , okay, wow,” Jeno raises his hands in defeat. “I was just going to ask if you’re free tomorrow? There’s no practice so you could spend the night and we could play some video games.”

You stare at him, feeling an unfamiliar heat rise up onto your skin while his eyes flicker away from you and land on something over your shoulder. Recently, it’s been harder for you to spend time with just Jeno. You both had the same friends so not inviting them would be awkward, not to mention Jeno has coaches to impress and drills to run and you’re weighed down with studying and school duties. It’s rare for you two to be able to have a sleepover like you did so many times when you were younger.

“Hey, what about- _Jisung_ , did you just _kick_ me?” Mark butts in, staring at the younger boy incredulously. But Jisung just ducks his head and pretends to be writing something down, refusing to look at any of you. You watch them, confused, until your eyes meet Jeno’s and you realise he’s still waiting for a reply.

“Sure,” you shrug, trying to act cool even though a smile sneaks onto your face at the way Jeno lights up.

“Brilliant,” he stands up, sending you a wink that has your eyes going wide, “see you later.”

The three of you watch him go, Jisung with a small smile and you and Mark with bemused looks.

“How many laps do you think Coach Lau will give him for skipping?” You eventually ask, twirling your pen and staring down at your work.

“I dunno,” Mark exhales, following your actions, “like twenty?”

“Twenty-five,” both your heads turn to look at Jisung, who’s _finally_ started to write something down. When he realises you’re staring he looks up, like a deer caught in headlights and shrugs.

“What? I was there once, and he made Jeno run, like, thirty. It wasn’t pretty.” He glances around the room as if he’s afraid of tarnishing Jeno’s reputation, before whispering, “ _he threw up_.”

You and Mark just keep staring at him until you raise your pen threateningly. Jisung’s eyes go wide and he slams his pen to paper, scribbling hastily.

-

You find yourself outside Jeno’s house laden with snacks and a heavy backpack from where you’ve crammed all your stuff into it. Your phone is clenched in between your thumb and middle finger as you lean to knock on the door with your elbow, trying not to drop anything.

He takes only a second to open the door, looking particularly cute in an oversized sweater and baggy sweatpants, rushing to take the food from you to free up your hands.

“Looking cosy,” you tease, enjoying the way he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck before beckoning you inside. Seeing him look so relaxed made you realise how much you’ve missed just hanging out with him, but since it’s been some time since you’d last been at his house on your own you find you can feel your heart in your ears as soon as you step into his house.

“I’ve been looking forward to tonight,” he admits, leading you further inside. “To being able to relax, I mean.”

“Me too,” you nod, following him. “How’s your mother?”

You say a quick hello to Mrs Lee before Jeno ushers you upstairs and into his room. It smells just like him and you grow shy upon entering, eager to see what’s stayed the same but nervous to find out what’s changed. During movie nights you don’t normally go upstairs, only to the toilet to get changed in the bathroom, so you haven’t seen Jeno’s bedroom in a while.

Pictures of you and the others litter his desk and drawers, ranging from when you were younger to Jeno’s most recent sporting event: last year’s tournament. It was taken by Jaemin and features a sweaty, uniform-clad Jeno lifting you up victoriously after winning the game, as if you were the trophy Replaying out the memory brings a bittersweet smile to your face. If you were poetic, you would say that that day was when you had first fallen for him, but with Jeno there was no way for you to tell when your friendship had ended and your feelings had begun. The two of you were always changing and you were never confident enough to try and draw the line.

“So,” Jeno presses a controller into your hands before guiding you onto the bed, “I thought we could start with a few games and then move onto a movie? I wanna see if I can still beat you in Mario Kart.”

“When will you let that go? That was one time,” you clamber onto his bed grumpily, shoving him as he sniggers.

“Whatever. If you’re too chicken, I’ve got Smash Bros.”

“Bring it! I’ll play whatever.”

The two of you are fiercely competitive, mashing buttons frantically. Though Jeno’s had more practice at the game than you, you’re a natural, thrashing him by a long run. On the third game, you gear up for a combo while Jeno yells, elbowing you to try and throw you off.

“Jeno!” You wail, feeling yourself slip off the bed. You barely get time to see his panicked face before you’re falling, but he manages to grab your arm, hauling you back onto the bed and then catching you again as you go crashing into his side.

“You don’t know your own strength, do you?” You complain, elbowing him in retaliation.

“Sorry,” he laughs, eyes disappearing as a smile appears, “but it’s not my fault you’re so easy to move.”

“Not _my_ fault you’re a sore loser.”

You soon move onto another game which is, to your horror, horror.

“Do we have to play this?” You whine, scooting to hide behind Jeno as he passes you a pillow, already grinning because he knows you _hate_ anything to do with the horror genre.

“Just give it a chance,” he laughs, before starting up the game. Occasionally you peer over his shoulder, flinching when something jumps out at him while he teases you, running towards the scary noises you order him to avoid and laughing when you press your head to his back to try and obscure the screen from your view while using your pillow to whack him.

It’s an unspoken rule in the Lee household that all noise quietens down by midnight, so as the clock strikes, Jeno exits the game and stretches out, feet hanging off the end of the bed while you hand him your pillow and make your way to his bathroom.

After brushing your teeth and changing into your nightwear you head back to Jeno’s room, ready to collapse onto your airbed. But once you get there Jeno is still on the bed, this time browsing through Netflix, but the airbed is nowhere in sight.

“Where am I sleeping?” You ask him. He looks up, taking in your oversized graphic shirt and baggy shorts. 

“Ah,” Jeno has the decency to look sheepish, “I forgot it.”

“You _forgot_ it?” You stare at him. “So it’s still in your parents’ room, who are asleep?”

He nods innocently.

“How do you _forget_ \- whatever, I’ll just have to go get it,” you sigh. The last thing you want to do is wake Jeno’s parents since they’d so graciously opened their house to you, but you didn’t have a choice. You had nowhere else to sleep.

“Wait,” Jeno scrambles off his bed to stop you. “We can’t wake them up! What if they get mad and kick you out?”

You turn to look at him, horrified. “Would they really do that?”

He bites his lip, nodding with a serious expression on his face as he takes in the worry evident on your face. “I think so,”

“I thought they liked me?”

“They like their sleep more,” he says softly, mouth twitching, but before you can question him on it he jumps off the bed and starts smoothing out the blankets.

“We’ll just have to share a bed.” He grabs a few pillows, turning them and making a wall down the middle of the bed, sectioning it so there are two separate sleeping areas and then look at you expectantly. “See? It’ll be fine.”

“Will there be enough room?” You look at him sceptically, shifting from foot to foot. He nods furiously.

Though sharing a bed with Jeno sets off a flashing warning sign in your head you realise you have no other option. You’d take sleeping next to him over waking up his parents any day.

“Fine,” you grab your phone charger and water bottle from your bag, hopping back onto the bed and setting up your side.

“I can’t believe you forget,” you scold him absent-mindedly as you adjust the pillows. “You had literally all evening to do it. It’s like you did it deliberately!”

You miss the way Jeno’s eyes widen and he struggles to form a sentence. Just as you turn to look at him to question why he hasn’t replied, he jumps off the bed and tosses the remote your way. It almost flies right past you so while you’re scrambling to get it he takes the opportunity to escape out the room.

“I’m gonna get ready for bed,” he jerks his thumb to the television, “choose a movie.”

Then he leaves, shutting the door behind him and leaving you to watch him go with a confused expression on your face.

When he comes back, you’re already under the covers, scrolling on your phone while the screen is paused at the beginning of _To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before._

“You really had to choose this movie?” He rolls his eyes, joining you in bed.

“It’s a classic! _And_ you haven’t seen it yet,” you sneer at him, discarding your phone and drawing your legs to your chest before starting the movie.

It’s your second time seeing it and although you’d planned to watch how Jeno reacts to it, you soon lose interest and pick up your phone again. Jeno, on the other hand, doesn’t say a word, too absorbed in the movie to realise he’s stretching out on the bed, leaving you to silent panic over the steadiness of your pillow wall.

Luckily, Jeno always falls asleep before you, which means he stops moving and you have time to rebuild the pillows. It may be because he’s comfortable wherever he sleeps, or because he’s always so tired out from his practices, but he’s the first to go. It’s up to you to turn off the lights and television before putting your phone on charge and settling down, turning away from him and using his soft breaths as a metronome for you to fall asleep to.

But when you wake up, you are in a very different position.

A pillow is cuddled to your chest that, upon closer inspection, belongs to your makeshift wall, meaning you can stare straight at Jeno.

He’s on his side, facing you and lying on his arm which is stretched out in your direction. It’s obvious he’s shifted closer during the night given that there’s less than there’s a pillow’s width between the two of you. If he extended his fingertips any longer, you realise, then he would’ve been able to touch your forehead.

Despite that, you can’t help but think that he looks peaceful when he sleeps, hair flattened against his forehead and chest rising and falling slowly. When you eventually get bored of watching him you roll to the other side, grabbing your phone and checking the time.

It’s too early to get up, but you notice you have a notification from Chenle that came through in the early hours of the morning.

**Chenle:  
** _having fun?_

You frown at your phone and for some reason think back to when he and Jisung were giggling during movie night, but you’re too tired to make any sense of it. Instead, you scroll aimlessly through your social media until you find yourself on Jeno’s page, looking through his pictures and silently wondering how someone can be so perfect.

Recently, your crush on Jeno has become harder to ignore. Ever since the party you’ve noticed that he’s by your side while you walk to your classes. In the cafeteria, he always saves you a seat, and after school he waits to drive you home. 

Your friendship with Jeno was always casual and you had kept your feelings at bay by maintaining a distance from him. But now, when he was right by you at almost every second of the day, it had become impossible to ignore, which in turn made it harder to stay away.

You tell this to Jaemin and Donghyuck a week later when the three of you are sitting on the grass behind the bleachers, waiting for Jeno to finish his individual practice so you can meet up with the others at the movies.

“That sucks for you,” Donghyuck picks at the grass on the ground, piling the little clumps into a pile. “To be honest I thought you guys were growing more distant and he only invited you around to catch up, because he’s always around Jisung and Chenle nowadays.”

"Really?” You think, trying to recall when you’d seen them together. “I haven’t noticed that.”

“You probably wouldn’t. I mean, you and Jeno are similar to those two in terms of closeness,” Jaemin pipes in, staring up at the darkening sky. “Except the fact you two have huge crushes on each other. I’m not sure I can see Chenle thirsting after Jisung. Do you know he threw up on him after the party?”

“Wait, really- _hey_ ” you glare at him, “Jeno and I are friends. If you tell him about this, _either of you_ -“ you send them a dark look, “-I’ll kill you.”

Donghyuck mimes locking his lips. 

"Maybe Jeno’s just trying to make more time for you? I remember when Chenle joined the student council, he struggled to make time for Jisung, since their timetables always clashed.” Jaemin carries on. “They still make time for each other, though, so maybe Jeno’s doing that?”

“But we’ve been friends for years,” you frown. “That wouldn’t make sense.”

“Just _tell_ him,” Donghyuck grows up with the lack of action you’re taking, groaning loudly.. “Get it off your chest!”

“I agree,” Jaemin nods, “Jeno’s too nice to reject you harshly- if he even rejects you at all. And if he _does_ break your heart, then we can send Jisung in to beat him up.”

“Or Renjun,” Donghyuck joins in, chewing his lip thoughtfully. “He has a mean right hook. I would know.”

-

You’re greeted with darkness and the cold once you all exit the cinema. It’s late in the evening as the movie was a few hours and as you all fan out onto the streets you tilt your head to try and see the stars.

“I’m hungry,” Jisung complains, pushing past Jeno and Chenle and coming to stand next to you, pulling his hood over his face. It’s adorable how the tall boy looks so small as his oversized hoodie engulfs him. You knock against him and he clings onto you, trying to fend off the cold.

When Jeno had _finally_ finished practice you were left with only a few minutes to get your tickets and get into the theatre, meaning there was no time to get anything to eat. You didn’t voice it, but you were starving too.

“We can grab something to eat,” Mark brings out his phone, trying to find somewhere that’s still open. You start to help, tapping away to try and find the nearest burger joint when Jeno struts up to you, hand coming around your shoulders as he guides you away from the group.

“We’re gonna head out guys, eat without us.” He gives them a casual wave before marching you away. You hear Jisung whine behind you and all you can do is turn to stare at them, dumbfounded, before you’ve rounded a corner and they’re out of sight.

“What the hell was that?” You struggle out of his grip as the two of you turn the corner and continue down the main road. Jeno’s face is lit up by the many neon signs and streetlights, bouncing off his dark hair and lighting up his face.

“Sorry,” he smiles down at you, “I just wanted to make sure you got home safe.”

“But I was hungry!” You complain although Jeno seems to ignore it, laughing at the frown on your face and lifting a hand to mess up your hair. You try to duck away but his arm tightens around your shoulder and locks you in place.

“Well, we can go and get food then.”

“But it’ll look like we’ve just ditched the others now,” you reply gloomily, carrying on down the street with him by your side, though you can’t deny the warm feeling settling inside you now you know he’s looking out for you, even if it’s just as a friend.

The rest of the walk is silent although you can tell Jeno has something to say. He’ll peer over at you every so often when you know he thinks you’re looking at the ground or towards the rushing cars. Several times he opens his mouth but hesitates as you turn to him expectantly, closing it again and sending you an apologetic smile.

“What’s wrong?” Eventually, you can’t take it anymore, turning to gently knock your fingers against his when he starts picking at his cuticles. “You’ve been acting a little weird recently, Jeno, just in school and at the movie night and-”

“Do you want to get some food sometime?”

Normally that statement wouldn’t surprise you, but Jeno blurts it out quickly as if he’s afraid you’ll suddenly interrupt. Then he peers down at you anxiously, as if your answer is the most important thing to him. You blink slowly, trying to figure out what this means.

“Just us two?”

He nods, more firmly this time. “Yeah, just us two.”

“Any special reason?”

“I want to,” he swallows, “catch up.”

You mull it over, trying to deny the little voice in your head that screams _it’s a date._ You almost want to ask him, _is it?_ but you’re too scared of rejection, of a misunderstanding, so you stay quiet and nod instead.

“Sure. Any specific time?”

“Can I text you?”

“Of course, just let me know.”

The both of you continue the walk but now you find Jeno is practically vibrating next to you, humming out a tune as his arms swing gently from side to side. At one point, his hand knocks against yours and instead of pulling away Jeno grasps your hand and tucks it into his pocket.

“What are you doing?” You cry out, mortified at how easily your face heats up.

“I just don’t want you to get cold,” he smiles widely, squeezing your hand gently which causes your face to burst into flames. “Your cheeks are already quite red.”

“Really?” You mumble, staring straight ahead. “I hadn’t noticed.”

-

Jeno texts the next day and asks if you can meet on a Saturday afternoon, which you confirm in a heartbeat.

Maybe you should have mulled it over, however, because now you just make more time to freak out.

A dress or jeans? Hoodie or cute top? You can’t decide, perusing through Pinterest while lying on your bed trying to gather some inspiration.

Even though it _isn’t_ a date, you still want to look nice. It had been a while since it had just been you and Jeno and there was still a small, selfish part of yourself that wanted him to look at you and see what he was missing.

"Having fun, sweetie?” Your mother pokes her head around the door, making a face at the mess of clothes on your floor.

“I don’t know what to wear,” you whine at her pitifully.

She rolls her eyes. “It’s Jeno, honey. Just dress how you normally do!”

Then she’s gone, leaving you to mull over her advice and decide if there’s any worth in her statement. You still had make-up to do, anyway.

It’s a relief to you when you finally decide on an outfit and head out to meet Jeno because he’s dressed to the nines. Not in the sense of a suit and tie, but he looks- at a minimum - _incredibly_ attractive in a bomber jacket and black jeans. When you reach his side you can smell the faint scent of cologne clinging to his skin and a smile blooms on your face. 

“You look good!” You tell him, enjoying the way he laughs nervously and ducks his head.

“So do you,” he looks you up and down with a small smile on his face before the two of you head to a cafe. It’s one you’ve frequented with him before so you’re familiar with the menu but it comes as a surprise when Jeno insists on paying. Usually, the two of you cover yourself or pay the other back later.

“I dragged you out here, let me get it.” He tells you firmly, keeping your purse from you until the payment has gone through. When he settles back at the table with your food back at the table you expect him to lapse into conversation, and he does, except he keeps glancing at his phone as if he’s expecting a message.

It’s every so often, taking up half of his attention as he laughs along to what you’re saying whilst checking his notifications. At the start to brush it off as nervousness, but as it continues you feel your irritation grow. Hadn’t he wanted to catch up?

Before you can say something, however, _your_ phone dings, alerting you of a new message.

It’s from Jisung so you’re half expecting it to be either a complaint, a meme, or a request for advice. However, it’s none of those things.

**Jisung:  
** _:DDDDDDD_

You frown at your screen, forgetting about Jeno for a moment and thinking back to Chenle’s text at the sleepover, slowly connecting the dots. Why were they both doing these things?

You think back to your chat with Donghyuck and Jaemin, who mentioned how Jeno had been hanging around with them more, and how the four of you were supposedly alike.

The boys had also told you to go for it, to shoot your shot without fearing the outcome. You don’t know if it’s the confusion over the text messages, annoyance at Jeno not giving you his undivided attention or the impatience of having to hide your crush, but you speak up.

“Why have you been so weird lately?”

Jeno looks up, pocketing his phone to blink innocently at you.

“I haven’t been weird.”

“Yes you have,” you lean forward slightly and narrow your eyes. “You and Chenle and Jisung. Super weird. Spill it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he plays it off but his eyes flicker from you to the table. It leaves you with no choice but to up your interrogation.

“You do, I know you do. You’re doing something with them, aren’t you? That’s why they’re texting me. Honestly,” you huff out something like a laugh although you’re not in the mood to joke. “You’re acting like you like me or something.”

There’s a small pause as Jeno doesn’t respond, instead stiffening up and keeping his eyes low, phone lying forgotten on the table. Then he mumbles something out, too low for you to catch.

“What was that?” You lean closer, eyebrows raised.

“What if I _do_ like you?” He repeats, meeting your gaze and sitting up straighter. “What if it’s not just acting.”

You’re floored, only able to stare at him as colour rises to your cheeks. Hope fills you although you try your best to push it down, not willing to give into your subconscious optimism.

“What did you just say?”

Jeno sighs, tongue poking into his cheek as he repositions himself in his seat. 

“You were wrong.”

“I’m sorry?” You’re lost, waiting for him to explain what he means.

“At the party,” he adds on, “your comment annoyed me.”

“My comment?”

“You and Renjun,” he fixes you with a heated gaze that you’ve never seen directly before, only when he’s gazing out onto the football pitch after being benched, or clenching his fist as he watches his friends pull off some weird stunt or flip he can’t learn.

Jealousy.

“You were wrong. We are compatible. And,” he narrows his eyes at you, “don’t say you’d choose Renjun over me. We both know you wouldn’t.”

“ _Excuse me?_ ” it’s your turn to scoff and look him up and down. “ _That’s_ what’s caused all this? A stupid comment that I said when I was _drunk?_ ”

“Why’d you think I went to the idiots?” He snaps and it takes you a moment to realise he’s referring to Chenle and Jisung. “After you said that, I wondered if we were drifting apart, so while I got you a glass of water I asked them how they were still so close after all these years.

"They told me to make you sit next to me at movie night, to be with you all the time when we’re at school, to walk you to and from your classes and invite you for sleepovers.”

“What about sharing the bed? You think Chenle and Jisung share a bed?” You accuse him.

“Maybe I wanted to sleep next to you, okay?” He snaps, irritated that you’ve interrupted his rant. “Maybe I wanted to indulge myself a little. Sue me, Y/N.”

You wonder if he’s realised what he’s just said.

“But I guess it didn’t work,” he snaps, though there’s no bite in his words and you realise he’s mostly annoyed at himself. “I just ended up exposing my giant crush on you. So there, sorry for ruining the friendship, but that’s why I’ve been acting weird.”

You let him calm down, watch as he comes back to himself and realises what he’s just said, unable to meet your eyes while his pale complexion reddens. You can’t help the grin that tugs at your mouth.

“That’s funny,” you reply casually, “because Jaemin and Donghyuck kinda said the same thing.”

His head whips up. “What?”

“I always thought the two of us were so different, not compatible, so I kept the fact I liked you to myself. I told Donghyuck and Jaemin about it like you did Chenle and Jisung, about how you’d invaded every corner of my life so it was impossible to ignore you,” the smile grows wider, “I even kinda thought this was going to be a date.”

“I was _trying to make_ this a date,” Jeno replies earnestly, obviously seeing where you’re headed. “I put on cologne and everything.”

“I noticed,” you raise your brow at him. “And I guess I should tell you I like you. I have for a while.”

You watch the victorious grin spread across his face, similar to the one you had seen in last year’s football tournament.

“So,” his eyes disappear under the intensity of his smile, “would you mind this being our first date?”

You grin back at him. “Not in the slightest. You paid, after all.”

Later, when Chenle and Jisung send a selfie of them together to Jeno’s phone, asking how it’s going, so you send one back of you and Jeno, who has his head resting on your shoulder as you lean into him with a huge smile on your face.

**Jeno:**

_thanks for the help, but i don’t think he needs it anymore ;)_

_-_


End file.
